The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has posted guidelines and application instructions for the FY25 Our Town Grant Program, which supports activities for creative placemaking projects that integrate arts, culture, and design into local efforts that strengthen communities over the long term. Applicants may request an amount between $25,000 – $150,000, with a required minimum nonfederal cost share/match equal to the grant amount.
For FY25, Our Town continues to encourage projects that work at the intersection of arts and transportation/infrastructure, health, and/or climate. Projects may address one or some of these topics, or can engage other areas of cross-sector work.
The NEA Our Town Grant is a multi-step process with a final deadline of August 15, 2024. All applications are to be submitted by one organization (lead applicant) and require at least one partner organization (primary partner) to be eligible for funding. The applicant/partner pair must include 1) a nonprofit organization and 2) a local governmental or quasi-governmental entity.
Interested applicants should consult the official website for the full program details, application instructions, and resources: www.arts.gov/grants/our-town (application materials are also available in Spanish).
Please contact the NEA’s staff directly at OT@arts.gov if you have any questions and be sure to register for the FY 2025 Our Town Grant Guidelines webinar on Thursday, June 13 at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Call for Proposals & Partner Letters of Support
The Mayor’s Office of Cultural Economy (OCE) will no longer be conducting a Call for Proposals for creative placemaking projects as Our Town has eliminated the limit of only two applications per community.
All community members and organizations interested in applying for the Our Town Grant are encouraged to contact the most relevant City of New Orleans entities regarding potential partnerships (e.g., the Regional Transit Authority (RTA), the Stormwater and Green Infrastructure (SGI) Department, the Health Department, and the Department of Parks & Parkways).
Our office welcomes inquiries regarding potential partnerships and collaborations; however, please note that requesting a partner letter of support does not guarantee that one will be provided to you. The ability of our office to support a project is dependent on 1) alignment with OCE’s mission and goals, 2) the scope and depth of the partnership, and 3) department capacity due to ongoing initiatives that are already underway.
Please direct all inquiries to culturaleconomygrants@nola.gov.
Requests for Mayoral Letters of Support
Per Our Town guidelines, a letter of commitment (i.e., letter of support) from the highest-ranking local government official is encouraged, but not required. If you plan on requesting a mayoral letter of support for the Our Town Grant, please email culturaleconomygrants@nola.gov with the subject “Project Title – Our Town Grant Letter of Support” and include the following information:
- Confirmation that Part 1 of the application is completed. Part 1 deadline is August 1, 2024.
- Organizational information and mission.
- Brief scope of the proposed project and any supplemental materials.
- A draft letter of support to be used and updated as needed.
All requests must be submitted no later than July 22, 2024, to ensure that applicants receive the letter to include with their final submission before the NEA Applicant Portal opens for Part 2 on August 8, 2024. Routing letters of support can take up to 7-10 business days, so please plan accordingly.